During summer at Yellowstone, the little road that loops past the thermal features of the Upper Terrace is often lined with cars. Passengers lean out the car windows snapping pictures of elk and bison, and car after car pulls over at the Orange Spring Mound to take a family photo standing in front of the colorful thermal formation that's next to the road. In the valley below, the hotel and shops at Mammoth Hot Springs are bustling with summer tourists and the parking lots are jam-packed with cars.

The famed "natural mineral water" baths at Saratoga Spa State Park have been diluted with regular tap water for the past two decades, state officials confirmed Monday. The park's baths attract about 14,000 customers a year who pay $20 for the privilege of soaking in the bubbly water.

The view is timeless. But as the 19th century gave way to the 20th, getting a glimpse of the Grand Canyon required a lot of travel time and a hardy derriere. A century later, El Tovar, a four-story chocolate-colored building, still offers some of Grand Canyon National Park's most sought-after accommodations.

Lauren Hillquist figures he may have to skip five-star restaurants to save a few bucks when he pulls his 39-foot trailer through Colorado. Although the price of gasoline is expected to near $3 a gallon this summer, the retiree and his wife Barbara haven't given a thought to canceling their trip